Search continues for missing LP man

August 15, 2012

LAKE PLACID - Village police here are asking the public to remain vigilant as authorities continue to search for Seth Kilburn, who has been missing since early Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, members of the Lake Placid community gathered at the Lake Placid fire station this morning to help search for the 34-year-old Lake Placid man.

Police Chief Bill Moore said the search continued throughout the day Tuesday.

"We're continuing to search with forest rangers," he told the Enterprise. "So far we haven't turned up anything."

Kilburn, who lives with his parents on Mill Pond Drive, was last seen between 12:30 and 1 a.m. Sunday. His family reported him missing early Monday morning.

"I'm asking for people who live in the village, for people who are caretakers, to check outbuildings, check backyards," Moore said. "Any caretakers who may have a vacant property, please go and check to see if there's anything out of the ordinary."

Moore said his officers have been performing "cursory searches" with state Department Environmental Conservation forest rangers. He said for the time being, these searches aren't concentrated on specific areas.

"It's not like somebody saw him going on a trail and we can concentrate there," Moore said. "He was in sort of an urban area when he was last seen, not a wooded area."

Members of the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department and state police assisted with the search effort on Tuesday, as well as Kilburn's family and friends.

Moore said Kilburn has access to vehicles, but they're not missing. The chief added that Kilburn doesn't own a vehicle,

"I have no reason to believe he's in a vehicle at this point," Moore said.

Moore said his department has received a few plausible tips.

"We did have a report that he was seen on state Route 73, the Sentinel Road area," he said, adding that search parties were checking out the Sentinel Road area late Tuesday afternoon.

Moore said search efforts were also being conducted near Mill Pond.

Nicole Lewis, a friend of Kilburn, said people were scheduled to meet at the firehouse on Old Military Road at 9:30 this morning to help with search efforts.

Joan Grady is a close friend of the Kilburn family and has been speaking to the media on their behalf.

"If people can just keep their eyes open and call in anything that may look out of the ordinary, it'd be greatly appreciated," she said.

Grady said people have been helping the family by assisting with the search effort. She noted that a group of local mountain bikers who get together for a weekly ride helped out Tuesday night, too.

The family is dealing with the situation as well as it can, Grady said.

"It's one of those things where one minute you're laughing, the next minute you start to well up," she said. "They're doing all right."

Grady said the community has been helping by bringing food to the family.